Amsterdam: Investors wanting to put money in climate-friendly businesses would be wise to look at Germany, Brazil or even China rather than at the US, an international investment group said on Monday.

Other lower-risk countries among leading economies are Australia, Japan and France, Deutsche Bank AG said in a report. Those countries have the most comprehensive and transparent policies that give greater certainty to investments in such businesses as renewable energy and energy efficiency, and are likely to attract the capital needed to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases, it said.

The riskiest country is Italy, which is short on regulation and enforcement, the group said. The US has had “on-off” regulatory policies and its future remains uncertain, it said.

This is the latest study to suggest that current policies and plans will fail to cut emissions by enough to avert serious changes in the world’s climate. Scientists have warned that continued unchecked carbon emissions, mainly from burning fossil fuels, will disrupt weather patterns, melt glaciers and the Arctic ice cover to raise sea levels and spread pests and disease.

But it was unusual among the flurry of climate studies by activists, scientists and international agencies in taking the investors’ viewpoint and examining countries according to their climate-favourable business environment.